The present invention provides a cooking utensil for frying foodstuffs. More particularly a griddle with a contoured image is disclosed for transfer of such image to a fried good.
Griddles are known and utilized for frying various foodstuffs including pancakes, crepes, or fried sandwiches. These foodstuffs are generally fried on both sides to the consistency desired by the chef or baker. The resultant fried product usually has an outer skin or crust layer with a brown-toned surface, which skin is frequently a flat continuum. The cooking surfaces or griddles are flat planar surfaces, which are either positionable over a source of heat or integrally built into an appliance for direct heating by a source of heat. The heat is conducted through the griddle wall thickness to elevate the temperature of the upper surface and a lubricant cooking fluid, grease or release-agent is applied to this surface prior to frying the foodstuff. The release agent merely prevents sticking of the fried food and inhibits burning of the food surface at the griddle surface. However, the flat surfaces do not impose an image on the fried food surface.
A problem generally associated with production of an image on a fried food surface has been the concern of transferring or creating a figure of adequate size, that is, height or depth, and insuring the ability to turn the foodstuff for frying on its second side without destruction of the first-side imposed image. The present invention provides the image in any noted configuration, including character images, numbers or letters. U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,843--Gay et al. illustrates a toy-molding apparatus to produce a molded, shaped object with a surface image. A hot plastic, gelatinous fluid is distributed in a mold cavity to produce the molded, shaped object, however, this is used to bake molded candy forms with a single-sided mold.
Baked foodstuffs, that is, cakes, pies or breads, have been formed in images or configurations by cooking utensils with an appropriate outline-shape. Indicative of such outlined apparatus is the disposable cake pan illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,107,587--C. A. Tipton, wherein a form or foil member is secured on a sheet in an outline of the desired pattern. Thereafter, the cake batter is poured into the form on the sheet and baked to the desired configuration. The particular shape or outline is dependent on the operator or user of this assembly. A similar utilization of outline forms is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,780,978--Proul, which form is placed on a frying pan or grill for cooking foods. The outline confined foods, such as eggs or batter, are rapidly cooked to form a skin or layer at the lower surface and outer perimeter, which skin permits removal of the outline ring or form while the foodstuff retains the shape of the outline. However, this outline form is not integral with the griddle or frying pan, and thus no image is provided on the fried surfaces. It is unclear whether the foodstuff may be fried or cooked on both sides without disturbing the fluid center portion of the crust surrounded by the already-formed shell of the crust. Thus, it is unclear whether the foodstuff may be fried on both sides without disturbing the outline shape. A further indication of a baking operation imposing forms on the single-sided surface of a foodstuff is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 495,872 to F. J. Ball, which teaches a strawberry shortcake baking pan. As noted therein, the pan is provided with dimples or raised elements in the lower surface of the pan and these dimples mottle the lower surface of the finished baked good to provide seats particularly for strawberries. However, this is a baking arrangement to impose hemispherical indentations in the lower surface of a baked product, which implies a smooth upper surface. Other indications of baked goods with outlines or indentations thereon are provided in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 275,440--Matsuhitsa; and U.S. Pat. No. 701,662--Zeizer, discloses a baker's stencil for imposing printing on the crust of a bread.
Grilling operations are used to make waffles or other fried goods by trapping the foodstuff between two opposed heating surfaces for simultaneous overall cooking of both sides of the fried good. The fried foodstuff has a shaped or grid network from the continuous frying throughout the cooking cycle. However, there is no accommodation for single-sided frying nor for providing other than a grid-like network on the fried surfaces. Illustrative of a similar apparatus with dual heating surfaces for the preparation of particularly preformed foods, such as hamburgers and sausages, is the grilling apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,948,159--Vigerstrom, wherein sausages of a predetermined shape or hamburgers are simultaneously fried on both sides. The apparatus includes a timer and voltage regulator for cooking and temperature control.
Other apparatus with what appear to be designs or structures on the base of a frying pan are exemplified by the cooking utensil taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,078,479--Mori, which utilizes a plurality of elevated scallops and arcs distributed about the bottom of a frying pan for more even distribution of heat thereon. However, this is a structure outside the cooking surface.
Although the above apparatus disclose both cooking utensils and baking apparatus, which will form objects into desired shapes, none of the above apparatus will provide a figure in or on the surface of a fried or cooked object, which apparatus will similarly impose an identical image on the second side of the fried good after turning for second-sided frying thereof.